Au temps des colonies
Raphael Lyrics

The lyrics of Raphaël's song Au temps des colonies depicts a sense of longing for a lost love. The song begins with the singer feeling alone and isolated in the rain, lamenting the loss of a childhood tooth that always bled. The singer cries for 50 minutes, missing someone who never bothered to pick up the phone. The second verse reveals that the singer's heart was empty before meeting the person to whom the lyrics are addressed, and he followed her on winding paths, waiting for them to touch.

The chorus "Au petit monde au temps des colonies / Au petit monde on oublie" translates to "In the small world of the colonial era / In the small world, we forget." This can be interpreted in many ways, such as the idea that the singer and the person being addressed had a special connection that has been forgotten by others, or that their love existed in a small world that is now gone. The third verse mentions a location in the singer's dreams where he had seen the person before and never spoke to them, only dreaming about their lips. The song ends with the chorus once again, emphasizing the message that memories and love can be lost in small worlds like colonies.